Moscow stadium Luzhniki World Cup refit to cost up to $800 million - official

Apr 08 2013

Tough FIFA
rules mean it could cost nearly $800 million to make Moscow’s vast Luzhniki
arena fit to host the 2018 World Cup final, the Russian capital’s top
construction official said Saturday.

The
78,360-capacity stadium will shut for refurbishment after hosting the world
athletics championships in August, and builders will be tasked with meeting
FIFA regulations on spectator comfort, VIP facilities and media resources.

Russia’s
stated budget of $19.2 billion for the World Cup has come under severe pressure
in recent weeks, especially after the host city of Nizhny Novgorod requested
around $9 billion for its preparations.

“If FIFA
keeps all of its tough demands, then it could cost as much as 20 or 25 billion
rubles ($635 million to $793 million),” said Marat Khusnullin, Moscow’s deputy
mayor for city planning and construction.He added
that the stadium could be deepened below ground level inside to create more
space, but did not specify how that would impact the cost estimate.

Luzhniki’s
current configuration has its stands sloping gently backwards in a bowl shape
but this may not be the case for much longer, Khusnullin said. “The angle
of slope of the stands will probably be changed,” he said.

Luzhniki
was built in 1956 and has had a complex history, including hosting several
events at the 1980 Olympics, the deaths of at least 66 spectators in a crush in
1982 and hosting the 2008 Champions League final, for which the usual
artificial pitch was replaced with natural turf. As part of
the rebuilding work, the stadium's imposing facade of concrete columns will
remain.

Moscow will
have two venues for the 2018 World Cup. The other stadium will be Spartak
Moscow’s new arena, due to open in May 2014.

The World
Cup will take place in 12 stadiums in 11 Russian cities, from Kaliningrad near
the Polish border to the Ural mountains city of Yekaterinburg.